Posted : 2014-05-25 16:58
Updated : 2014-05-25 21:34
Cat-and-mouse game continues for Yoo clan
Reward raised to W500 million By Lee Hyo-sik Investigators have arrested four followers of a religious cult led by Yoo Byeung-eun, the de-facto owner of the sunken ferry Sewol, for helping the nation's most wanted fugitive evade prosecutors.
On Sunday, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office raised the initial reward of 50 million won tenfold to 500 million won ($488,000) for anyone providing tips leading to Yoo's arrest. Those who help apprehend his eldest son Dae-gyun will receive 100 million won, up from the previous 30 million won. "Many said the rewards for the two fugitives were too small. So, we decided to increase the amounts," a prosecutor said. The prosecution has received dozens of tips nationwide regarding the whereabouts of the two suspects, but none have so far led to their arrest. The prosecutors' office said that it took the followers of the Salvation Sect into custody for questioning over whether they had helped the former Semo Group Chairman Yoo escape Geumsuwon, the stronghold of the sect, ahead of a prosecution raid on May 21. The followers are suspected of providing Yoo with mobile phones and other items. Yoo is suspected of embezzlement, tax evasion and other irregularities that could be related to the ferry disaster. Investigators are quizzing the suspects over the whereabouts of Yoo and his son Dae-gyun. An arrest warrant for Dae-gyun was issued on May 13. Protesting the arrest of the four, about 500 sect followers staged a rally in front of the prosecutors' office, Sunday, demanding their release. According to the prosecution, one suspect was seen helping Yoo on surveillance cameras installed in the religious compound in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. The video records were confiscated during last week's raid. With a search-and-seizure warrant, about 80 investigators raided Geumsuwon to take Yoo and his son into custody. But they left without the two suspects. The prosecution said those who offer the two Yoos shelter or help them evade investigators will be severely punished. Under the Criminal Law, people who shelter criminals or assist them in fleeing from justice are subject to at least three years in jail or a maximum fine of 5 million won. On May 23, police cars were involved in a chase in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, after receiving a tip from a resident who claimed to have spotted people who look like the two Yoos get into a black sedan. But police couldn't verify the claim after failing to catch the sedan. The prosecution confirmed that Yoo had stayed in the neighboring city of Suncheon, but has moved somewhere else. In the meantime, the prosecution said Yoo and his family members may own about 150 apartments in Anseong. The properties are all registered in the name of one of Yoo's close aides and are leased to different tenants. The apartments are only three kilometers from Geumsuwon. Investigators suspect that the properties were bought with Yoo's money, and are looking into how his aide purchased them and where the funds came from. They are also checking whether rent money was wired to Yoo or his family members. The prosecution plans to seize the titles all the apartments if they are found to be Yoo's assets purchased using borrowed names. |
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